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# crabby

adjective (crabby, crabbier, crabbiest)

«crabby» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(informal) Crabby means grumpy and easily annoyed, in a bad mood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#m1)

### In the lessons

In everyday talk and stories, a crabby person snaps at others, often because they are tired, hungry or unwell («crabby» after a long trip). It is a mild, friendly-sounding word, used a lot in the USA and Canada; in the UK people also say «grumpy», «ratty» or «cranky». Phrases: «feeling crabby», «a crabby old man».

### Examples

- The baby gets crabby when she is tired. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#x1)
- Dad is always crabby before his morning coffee. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#x2)
- Don't be so crabby — it's only a game! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#x3)
- I was crabby because I hadn't had lunch. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#x4)
- The crabby neighbour shouted at us to keep the ball out of his garden. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#x5)
- After the long car ride, everyone was hot and crabby. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/#x6)

### Note

Comparative crabbier, superlative crabbiest. It is not about crabs, though it comes from the idea of a crab's pinching, bad-tempered way. Similar: grumpy, cranky, grouchy, ratty (UK).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «crabby» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«crabby» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/crabby.html) on Mova free.